Why did AAP expel senior leaders? Party has no specific answer

A day after it expelled four senior leaders from the party, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders refused to give any straight answers regarding the replies to the show-cause notices and the allegations made therein.

A day after it expelled four senior leaders from the party, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders refused to give any straight answers regarding the replies to the show-cause notices and the allegations made therein.

Neither the National Disciplinary Committee chairman, Dinesh Waghela, nor its member Pankaj Gupta answered any questions regarding why the replies weren’t found satisfactory or why no action had been taken against MLA Pankaj Pushkar.

“The four former members were given a day more to respond to the show-cause notice and a fair hearing. We concluded that they were involved in anti-party activities and decided they should be removed from the party. These are the only people against whom strict action has been taken yet. If need be, action will also be taken against others,” said Gupta.

The party also shied away from saying that Patiala MP Dharamvir Gandhi had been removed as the head of the party in Parliament for supporting Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan.

The party, instead, chose to shift focus on to its anti-land acquisition ordinance rally on Wednesday.

Panjak Gupta, who Prasant Bhushan in his reply has held responsible for accepting Rs 2 crore from shell companies, said that there was no basis to the allegations made.

“We never said that we don’t know where the money came from. They came from the companies named on our website. We never said these were shell companies. We at that time had made it clear that we followed all rules while accepting donations. Our accounts have been checked by both the UPA and NDA government and we have come out clean,” said Gupta.

Senior AAP leaders have maintained that they want the focus to now shift to questions of governance and what the Delhi government has been doing in office.

“Our actions have made it very clear that we want this controversy to be history. We are focusing on strengthening the party and giving out support to farmers in the country,” said a senior party leader.